The back road to the beautiful places, a gift from the Geocache

                                              

                               

The sound of the car had grown near hypnotic by now, and I could no longer make out the center line of the interstate.  My mind was foggy and uncertain as I looked around to determine where I was at.  "My God!" I exclaimed.  With little memory of how I got to this point, I looked back at my little passengers tucked away in the back, sleeping in the booster seats.  The tinge of fright pained through me like a small shock all over my body. 

I knew it was time to get out of the car and to stretch my legs.  My poor girls had to be stiff with pain by now, after all the booster seats were not made by the Serta mattress company.  I pulled off the highway and checked my trust IPhone for any geocahe in the area, and just my luck, there it was.  It was a commuter park and go located just off of Interstate 55 at the Ste. Genevieve MO exit. 

I turned the app on, and pulled in the parking lot.  I quietly got out of the car and followed the compass.  As I got close the familiar song jingles to let me know that I was with in 150 feet!  Something about that jingle must have been programmed in my daughter Randi's mind.  Before I knew it I hear her say "where is it daddy?"  I replied "I am not sure, but we are close now!"  She said " what's the hint?"  "There aren't any sweet-heart" I said. 

She and I followed the arrow, until we came with-in 5 feet.  I looked over everything, or so I thought.  Randi (my daughter) said "Daddy, I think I found it!"  "WHERE?"  I excitedly yelled.  She said  "Here" pointing at a sign.  I raced to it to look.  I searched high and low, but I did not see anything.  She said "No silly, look in the middle of the signs, like a bologna sandwich." 

I looked in between two signs and sure enough the it was!  A match container dangling from a fishing line.  She and I turned back to the car to get my pen which I had left behind.  My wife Stephanie and other daughters Beth and Lyndsey were awake and watching. 

"Daddy how come you didn't wake us up?" asked Beth.  I said "you guys were sleeping well and I just needed to stretch my legs a bit."  "Well we might have wanted to look with you" said Lyndsey.  Steph said, "are there any more that are close by?"  I looked down, and saw that there were several.  "Yes there are quite a few" I said.  "I guess it would be a good idea to go look around and find a few, so that we don't get too stiff from the ride"  my lovely wife said.

You know to a geocacher, we don't need very much of an excuse to go prowling around in new territory to make find!  We drove on into Ste. Genevieve and looked for a couple cache around the area, then we came across "Jacques house Geocache GC2C99P".  WOW! That is all I can say about that!

After this find, all we could do is walk around in awe at the beauty and simplicity of this magnificent town. My wife and I returned to Ste. Genevieve and stayed on a mom and dad only retreat.  We chose to stay at the beautiful "Main Street Inn" bed and breakfast.  What a beautiful place right down in the middle of the oldest settled town in the state of Missouri.  We walked to every shop and Historic site that we could find.  We chose to eat at a little restaurant by the name of "Sirros"!  I also can say that all of the place in the historic downtown area are fabulous!  We saw a pair of 17th century converted lamps that I fell in love with! 

The Interstate is a wonderful way to travel if you are in a hurry, but I recommend that you find some geocache along the way, and don't be in such a hurry.  If I had been in a hurry, well Ste. Genevieve Missouri may have been missed for it's true beauty!  If you have not been there before...well take a day and see it.  It is not very far from Cape Girardeau or St. Louis  Missouri. 

A Historic stop just off of the main highway, worth every second you are there.  If you go into any shops down town, tell them a DARE officer from Pemiscot County sent you.